title: Clinical trials in orthopaedics and the future direction of clinical investigations for femoroacetabular impingement.
abstract: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) represents a heterogeneous group of disorders that affect a diverse patient population. The natural history of the disease, the role of nonsurgical management, the indications for surgery, optimal surgical techniques, and the predictors of treatment outcomes need to be further defined. To date, clinical research reports have included primarily surgical case series. Future clinical investigations are needed to establish improved clinical evidence to guide patient care. Most urgent is the need to better understand the potential role of standardized nonsurgical treatment options for FAI and to define the predictors of surgical and nonsurgical outcomes. Future randomized controlled trials and large observational cohort studies targeted at these clinical research deficiencies will strengthen the evidence and improve informed decision making regarding the management of symptomatic FAI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Clohisy
authors.forename: Young-Jo
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lurie
authors.forename: Siôn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glyn-Jones
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Spindler
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lohmander
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends; D057925:Femoracetabular Impingement / Q000601:surgery*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic